Connecticut-based pools operator Heidmar is continuing to lose numbers from its tanker pools despite a management change aimed at reversing the trend.
Local neighbor Ridgebury Tankers and London-based Zodiac Maritime are the latest shipowners linked to vessel withdrawals by sources in the tanker market this week.
Ridgebury is said to be pulling three of the eight suezmaxes it has been operating in Heidmar’s Blue Fin pool and switching them to rival commercial manager Navig8.
Meanwhile, Eyal Ofer-backed Zodiac is understood to be moving all four of the VLCCs listed in Heidmar’s Seawolf pool to its own management while in the process hiring a veteran Heidmar chartering man.
Recently named Heidmar chief executive Pankaj Khanna could not immediately be reached for comment on the developments today.
Representatives of Ridgebury, Zodiac and Navig8 were likewise unavailable.
Greek shipowner George Economou took 100% ownership of Heidmar in June through his New York-listed company DryShips, which Economou has since taken private.
Khanna was hired at the same time with a remit to stem the blood-letting of vessel withdrawals that had marked the tenure of predecessor James Pippard, who departed after only 19 months on the job.
Those numbers had dwindled from about 100 to roughly 65 in June since the departure of Pippard’s predecessor, Ben Ognibene, across pools in aframaxes, suezmaxes and VLCCs.
“The focus in this year and next is on performance and growth,” of the company’s pools, Khanna told TradeWinds.
Heidmar in July hired veteran Keith Denholm as its managing director of projects in Singapore, with talk of not just building in tankers but also dry bulk and gas.
However, if the current reports are confirmed, the numbers continue to fall in the near term.
Before any departures, the three pools list 56 tankers overall. Removal of a further seven would drop the total a further 12%.
While prospects of a sustained tanker rally may be altering dynamics, the issue of Economou’s full control of the pools also complicates the picture in the minds of some owners, tanker market sources said.
“It raises trust issues,” one source said.
The Ridgebury vessels — all still listed on the Blue Fin website — are Ridgebury Alina L, Ridgebury Astari, Ridgebury Captain Drogin, Ridgebury John Zipser, Ridgebury Lessley B, Ridgebury Lindy B, Ridgebury Mary Salena and Ridgebury Nicholas A. They were built between 2001 and 2017.
The Zodiac VLCCs in Seawolf are the 297,000 Blue Nova (built 2011), the 310,000 Indigo Nova (built 2007), the 219,700-dwt Red Nova (built 2013) and the 298,500-dwt White Nova (built 2006).
Zodiac has been building its VLCC fleet this year, with the most recent addition the reported buy of the 320,000-dwt Brightoil Galaxy (built 2012) earlier this month at auction for $61.5m.
